Eric Bieniemy's Offense Key For Commanders Playoff Hopes?

The Washington Commanders are being forgotten about as playoff hopefuls in the NFC East, but if they were to secure their spot, how could they do it?

The NFC East has transformed itself from the "NFC Least" to the "NFC Beast" over the last few years, but the Washington Commanders continue to be pushed down in the mud.

Having won the division in 2020, the Commanders know what it's like to win and make the playoffs. But since then, many have seen them as the laughingstock of the division. After being so close to securing yet another playoff berth last season, Washington is again being forgotten about when it comes to playoff spots in the NFC.

But Bleacher Report remains optimistic about what the Commanders can do with their current roster.

"Dotson and Terry McLaurin are an excellent one-two punch at wide receiver. Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson are a quality "thunder and lightning" duo in the backfield. The Commanders offensive line isn't great, but it's adequate," Bleacher Report writes. 

"Defensively, if Chase Young can recapture the form that saw him win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, Washington could have the best defensive line in the league. That's right, better than the Eagles."

Let's dissect that.

To make the playoffs, Washington will likely have to win 9+ games next season. Is the roster good enough with Sam Howell at the helm?

As mentioned above, McLaurin and Dotson are good offensive weapons and have a good running-back tandem in Robinson Jr. and Gibson. The Commanders under Eric Bieniemy should be a far better unit than they were under Scott Turner, that saw them only average 18.9 points per game.

The talent is there; it's just up to Bieniemy to bring it all together. 

Defensively, Washington, under Jack Del Rio, was one of the better units in football last season, which seems surprising as they hardly got talked about. Under Del Rio, the Commanders' defense was ranked seventh in the NFL for points allowed (just 20.1 per game), and that was without Chase Young. 

If we add a productive Young to a defensive line group that has Daron Payne (11.5 sacks last season), Montez Sweat (8.0), and Jonathan Allen (7.5), then maybe Washington can rival the Eagles for the best defensive line in the division...although the Cowboys shouldn't be forgotten about as well.

Now we add a healthy Young as well as draftees Emmanuel Forbes and Jartavius Martin, and suddenly, Washington has a very good-looking defense. But is all of that enough to overtake the New York Giants and potentially the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles?

That is up for debate, but there is a lot of upside in Washington's roster, and maybe they will be the season's surprise packet.

But ultimately, it will fall on Howell and the offense to be consistently productive if the Commanders harbor hope of a postseason appearance.

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